ANSONIA – Against ominous clouds above city hall, and occasional winds ahead of the night’s storms, rock band Gravity Feed was determined to keep the show on.
“We’re gonna do two more for you, and hopefully stave off the weather to play some more,” saxophonist Jason “Ziggy” Zides told the audience. Lightning had just cracked overhead; keyboardist Tom Schmidt led the band into a cover of “Summertime,” and the band played on for another half-hour before packing up.
On Wednesday, June 26, Gravity Feed played the first night of the Ansonia Cultural Commission’s Summer Concert Series to a crowd gathered on lawn chairs, benches, and blankets at Veterans’ Park beside city hall. The Ridgefield sextet, fronted by Ziggy and lead vocalist CeCe Bersch, jumped between decades and genres, putting new spins on age-old hits and the tunes of today.
Ziggy and Bersch put the “power” in “power ballad” with their cover of No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” – Bersch’s voice transforming into Gwen Stefani’s, Ziggy’s soaring to match hers before launching into a blaring tenor sax solo – all over guitarist John Conner’s bluesy syncopations and drummer Brian Coralian’s pulled-back, steady rhythms. As sax and keys brought the song to a close, a few audience members shouted their approval.
“All of y’all are good, all of y’all are good,” one audience member said as Conner strummed out the first chords of “Summertime.” The band’s sounds carried through the air down Main Street, attracting curious passersby and the occasional new audience member.
After their set, Conner said in a phone call that it was Gravity Feed’s second year playing the concert series, and their eighth year as a group. The band grew, then dwindled, then grew again before settling on its current lineup in about 2022, comprised of musicians Conner met through open jam sessions at Danbury’s Sugar Hollow Taproom, which he owns.
The band specializes in playing “tip-of-your-tongue” songs – songs which people know, but which aren’t covered that often, Conner explained.
“We also make every song our own,” Conner said. “Nobody plays anything over and over. We’re all good enough, everyone just kind of does their own thing. If it works, it works, if it doesn’t, we pick another song.”
That attitude showed through in both the band’s sound and presentation. Their cover of rock band Dorothy’s “Freedom” turned a guitar solo into a frantic duel with the sax; Schmidt anchored an upbeat rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar” in the familiar stabs of the original’s synth; and bassist Andrei Lopukhin strolled confidently down the sidewalk, into the crowd, while trotting out the iconic triplet bassline from Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet.”
This reporter was drawn to the concert by the band’s electric echoes, reverberating inside city hall; she left still hearing those echoes, ready for more.
Gravity Feed’s Facebook page can be found here, and they can also be found at the Instagram handle @Gravity.Feed.
The next installment of the concert series will be July 10, featuring a performance by Shelton’s own Backbeat. Concerts will then continue every Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. at Veterans’ Park, Ansonia, until Aug. 17. See the flyer below for more details.
